Chapter 703 469: Liu He the Persuader

"Hey, Mom—"

Chen Yuan calmed his emotions, trying to keep his voice as normal as possible so Liu He wouldn't detect anything amiss.

He didn't know why his mom was calling.

But he knew he had to answer.

If he didn't, he would definitely face the consequences later.

This had happened more than once or twice, and Chen Yuan was already used to it.

Right now, he just wanted to quickly placate Liu He and then go back to coax Jiang Ning. 'After all, she just asked about educating our future children, didn't she? Since she asked, it means she's considering it. There's still hope.'

"Yuan, have you had dinner yet?"

The voice on the other end of the line was a bit noisy; Liu He probably wasn't at home. Her attitude was a complete turnaround from their last argument on the phone. Her tone was lively and cheerful.

"Not yet. Mom, what's up? Why'd you call?" Chen Yuan asked, resting his hand on the white railing in the hallway outside the room.

He stared down at an old man fishing not far away.

The old man looked relaxed, leisurely untangling a knotted fishing line.

"So I can't call you unless there's a reason? Honestly, you kids." Liu He instantly shot back.

"That's not it. I never said that."

"You ungrateful brat. If I don't call you, you won't call for weeks on end. You hide everything from your father and me."

"I don't..."

"You're just making excuses! Ningning and Yaoyao are both injured and in the hospital, and you didn't even tell your father and me. If you'd told us, we could have at least visited them. Wouldn't that look better to our future in-laws?"

"Mom, how do you know?" Chen Yuan pressed the phone to his ear, his eyes widening.

"Don't you worry about how I know. The point is, your father and I are already at the high-speed rail station. It's the May Day holiday, so there's nothing going on at the school. We're planning to head to Mingzhu City tonight to visit the two sisters. Are you at the hospital right now?"

"Mom, calm down," Chen Yuan said, suddenly anxious. "Their injuries aren't serious, they just had minor surgery. It's too last-minute for you and Dad to come now. The train ride is several hours long. You'll probably get here in the middle of the night."

"The middle of the night is fine. You can just come pick us up, can't you?" Liu He said, perfectly self-assured. "We'll go straight to the hospital. I'll stay and take care of Ningning for a couple of days, which will take us right to next Monday. Then we can all go to Kyoto to see your biological father and discuss the wedding. I have it all planned out..."

Once she started, she spoke in a constant stream, giving Chen Yuan no chance to interject.

"Mom..." he said helplessly. "Mom!!"

"I'm right here. Stop shouting."

"It's no use you planning everything so perfectly. Forget it, I'll just be honest with you," Chen Yuan said, his face twisting in frustration. "The engagement was originally supposed to be with Yaoyao. Nothing has been settled with Ningning, and you know that. She isn't willing to marry me, let alone with your son wanting her to marry him *alongside* Yaoyao. It's still up in the air whether any of it will even happen. Why are you in such a mad rush?"

"Me, not in a hurry? How many months has it been since I last went to Lanjing? I gave you all this time, and did you get anything done? You're useless! Rely on you? I might as well ask Ningning myself what she thinks. If I talk to her, maybe we'll finally make some progress."

He took his mother's criticism.

Yet he couldn't bring himself to get angry.

Strictly speaking, Liu He wasn't wrong. He'd had plenty of time but had failed to convince Jiang Ning, which was why the situation had become what it was now.

Despite his countless attempts, the results had been minimal.

That was why Liu He was so anxious.

She couldn't just stand by and watch a prospective daughter-in-law slip through her fingers.

Chen Yuan fell silent after hearing Liu He's words.

After a long moment, he finally sighed.

"You can ask her, but don't put too much pressure on her, alright? Otherwise, it'll seem like you're trying to force her to marry me."

"Of course I know that. I'm a better communicator than you are."

"Alright, then. Call me when you're getting close, and I'll come to the station to pick you up."

The call ended.

Chen Yuan put his phone back in his pocket and stood there in a daze for some time.

The sky was growing darker. To see more clearly, the old fisherman had switched to a glow-in-the-dark bobber.

Chen Yuan slowly walked back into the room.

He pushed open the door.

Jiang Yao was playing on her phone alone, not saying a word. On the other side of the room, Ningning was equally silent.

"I'm back. That was my mom on the phone," Chen Yuan said, sitting down cross-legged and scratching his head. "She knows you two are in the hospital and wants to come for a visit. She's taking the high-speed rail tonight."

"Huh???"

The two sisters exclaimed in unison, whipping their heads around to face him.

"It's so late. She could have come another day. Besides, Yaoyao and I aren't badly hurt. See? We're alive and kicking. Auntie really doesn't need to go through all that trouble to come here."

"I couldn't talk her out of it. She's already on the train with my dad," Chen Yuan explained. "It's not just to visit you two. More importantly, it's to discuss the engagement. They're probably coming to have a serious talk, and then we can all head to Kyoto together."

"Is that so..."

Jiang Ning's expression immediately stiffened. A complex emotion flickered in her eyes, and it was hard to tell what she was thinking.

"I'm going to go make some arrangements. I'll have someone bring a car over so I can pick them up tonight. I also need to ask the hospital to prepare a companion room since there aren't any hotels nearby... You two go ahead and order some food. We can eat after I'm done with the arrangements. It's already past seven."

After saying this, Chen Yuan got up and hurried out to make a phone call.

A driver had brought him here, so he didn't have his own car. Since Liu He had insisted he pick them up personally, he couldn't pull rank and just send the driver like he might for someone else.

Chen Yuan left again.

The two sisters in the hospital room stared at each other.

They were clearly stunned by the sudden news.

"Do you get it now? The engagement is officially on the table. Even Auntie is coming in person to discuss it," Jiang Yao said, giving her sister a pointed look.

"But I still haven't made up my mind," Ningning said, biting her lip.

"If you really want to refuse, you should just say so. Make a clean break. Don't keep him worrying like this. Dragging it out won't do anyone any good," Yaoyao said, angry on Chen Yuan's behalf. "Now Auntie is coming, too. It's the perfect opportunity to make things clear, face-to-face."

"I know... I know," Jiang Ning repeated, refusing to look at her sister, her brow furrowed.

"He's already put in so much effort! He came to see me just now, all excited, telling me he'd found a solution to the problem you brought up. And then you pull a stunt like that. If you're really not willing, can't you just say so clearly? Why do you keep stringing him along? Does it make you happy to keep disappointing him?"

"You think I don't want to make him happy? But I don't even know what to do myself! If we marry him together, will there really be no problems in the future? I can't convince myself. Every night, I make a decision, but by the next morning, I've already changed my mind. I'm so tired of it, too..."